I Went to See Fall Out Boy in Austin and All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me

Growing up, Fall Out Boy was my favorite artist. I have streamed their music for several years, but because of their hiatus, I was never able to see them in concert, except for last summer when they came to Houston. It was truly one of the best nights of my life, so now, when I had the opportunity to see Fall Out Boy in concert, I knew I had to drop everything and run to Austin. 

Fall Out Boy rocked the Moody Center on March 8, 2024, for their headline tour So Much For (2our) Dust, which is a cheeky reference to their recent studio album So Much (For) Stardust. They blew away fans with their amazing performance featuring pyrotechnics, fire and raw talent from the band itself. For this particular date they were supported by The Maine, Daisy Grenade and pop punk legends, Jimmy Eat World. 

First, punk duo Daisy Grenade opened with songs from their recent EP “Cult Classic.” They sang “Are You Scared of Me Yet”, followed by “Cult Classic.” Next they sang their famous cover “King For A Day” by Pierce The Veil, which was truly unforgettable. They brought great passion and energy into the audience.

Next, The Maine took the stage with their fresh take on punk rock with songs like “blame,” “Sticky,” and “Girls Do What They Want.” It was amazing to see this band command the stage with such little effort and truly put their all into their set.

Right before Fall Out Boy, Jimmy Eat World put on an amazing set, and engaged fans. Immediately, fans stood up, and danced along to their iconic songs from their various eras throughout their career. Since it was the weekend before Austin’s famous SXSW, they asked the crowd who was here for the festival, and told a story of how they performed back in ‘97. Saying “[the organizers] gave us $100 and five drink tickets..so we got a bunch of drinks…that’s what you think about when you have no technology…how can we spend all of those drink tickets.” They followed that with “All The Way (Stay).” Before they ended their set they said ,

Thank you so much…its so easy to be grateful for the smaller things, but its so fucking crazy to be able to play for all of these people

Jimmy Eat World

They thanked Fall Out Boy then immediately they transitioned to their iconic song “The Middle,” which the crowd went wild for. Overall, Jimmy Eat World is a great example of a band that has sustained popularity with time.

The band everyone had been waiting for, Fall Out Boy, came on stage following their interlude “The Pink Seashell (feat Ethan Hawke)” and immediately began with a literal bang with their song “Love From The Other Side” with fireworks coming out of the stage. Everyone cheered as Fall Out Boy transitioned into their next song “The Phoenix.” Bassist Pete Wentz released fire from his bass as flames shot from the back of the stage. Afterwards, they immediately transitioned into their iconic song “Sugar We’re Going Down,” fans sung in unison to the beginning verse, as Patrick Stump pointed his mic to the crowd. During this song, they released confetti into the crowd, in which Wentz said,

Oh look at that, the fucking snow has been activated…thank you for spending your evening with us

Fall Out Boy

With just about 15 minutes of performing, Fall Out Boy had already put on a spectacular show.

After this, Pete Wentz mentioned how they are going to take a different approach to the tour and play songs that they normally don’t play. So they played a variety of songs from 20 years ago, when the band was first starting out. Before they began this portion of the set, they had a visual of a clock going backwards, as the stage lights dropped down, making the illusion of the stage being smaller and resembling the venues they may have played at the beginning of their career. They played “Dead on Arrival,” “Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy” along with “This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race,” in which fans screamed just as loud, if not louder to their lyrics, just showing how timeless the band’s music is. In reaction to that Wentz said “it’s pretty insane to be playing specifically these songs in an arena in 2024”.

Afterwards, the band played a mixed set featuring new and old songs such as “Heaven, Iowa” and “Bang the Doldrums,” before Wentz directly spoke to the crowd talking about his mindset writing the band’s newest album. “2-3 years ago going into the album [during] COVID…I felt this existential dread…[so] going into that I [made] art…seeing the stuff y’all make is fucking weird…[so] were going to sing songs we don’t sing to the set list…this song is a doozy” before singing “Headfirst Into Cooperstown On A Bet” and “What A Catch Donnie.” “What A Catch Donnie” caught fans by surprise, as it is rarely played on tour, and was the last single Fall Out Boy released before they went on hiatus.

It’s very important that you make shit…it’s very important to me…

Pete Wentz

In reaction to the crowd’s passion, Wentz said “that was fucking fantastic…being here with you guys feels so fucking right.” Before Stump began his portion of the show in which he plays a usually improvised acoustic piece on the piano. Before he began his portion of the night he gave Wentz credit for his lead in designing the set and writing the lyrics of their music. “Every night I have to try to figure something out…tonight I’m gonna try a song that I have never played live” in which he transitioned to Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now.” Eventually Stump forgot the words, and said to the crowd “We’re a weird band, and I usually don’t know most of the words of our songs…Pete changes the words last second…[so] I”m really grateful anytime I remember anything…” before he transitioned into “So Much (For) Stardust” where he was accompanied by the band.

After a short interlude with “Baby Annihilation” Wentz did one of his famous magic tricks in which he hid himself behind a curtain and ended up on a platform in the middle of the audience during their famous song “Dance, Dace.” It was truly an amazing sight. After the song “Hold Me Like A Grudge,” the band did their Magic 8 Ball song of the night “Don’t You Know Who I Think I Am.” Afterwards, the band concluded the night with an energetic line up of “My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up),” “Thnks Fr th Mmrs” and “Centuries,” in which the band released more fireworks, fire and overall created an amazing energy in the audience. Fans cheered, shouted and danced along to each song, most of them knowing the lyrics completely. As usual, the band ended their set with “Saturday,” after taking a selfie with the audience.

I can wholeheartedly say that if you ever get a chance to see Fall Out Boy live, take it, regardless of if you are a fan or not, because their shows are amazing, and the crowd’s energy is absolutely infectious. Fall Out Boy has truly withstood the test of time, and have come back bigger and badder than ever, and will continue to reinvent the pop-punk genre.